What the Heart Wants: An Opposites Attract Anthology

by Jeanne McDonald

  His colleagues were familiar with Grant’s professional abilities and skills. When it came to his personal life, however, nineteen out of twenty people couldn’t find a way to relate to him. The few who did struggled to find their social groove with Grant and they usually possessed twice the patience of a typical saint in order to do so.

  It wasn’t that Grant’s medical talents overtook his social skills. He was more than capable of holding his own in conversation or debate, but Grant lived very much inside his own head. He was perceived as snobbish by most and once he realized people usually jumped to this forgone conclusion, he found it easier to play the part to perfection. He was clinical about his social encounters, and approached his relationships like he did surgical procedures. When a relationship had run its natural course, he ended it without creating emotional baggage.

  Everleigh’s unconventional self-introduction in the cafeteria had taken Grant by surprise. He didn’t hate surprises per se, but he was unaccustomed to them. As he meandered through the hospital corridors on his way back from their spontaneous encounter, he replayed the conversation and analyzed the facts.

  By Everleigh’s own admission, she’d studied him and diagnosed certain behaviors he possessed. She’d evidently liked what she’d observed and decided Grant was going to be her friend. With admirable intuition, Everleigh had approached him on terms he could best comprehend and accept. There had been no manipulation, no phoniness, and no defensiveness at his reserved demeanor. She’d asked him plenty of unusual questions, but nothing offensive. Her inquiries displayed her genuine interest in him and her honesty was refreshing.

  Grant returned to his post in the surgical center. It was a rare quiet day in the operating room. He tried to focus on case studies, but his thoughts were occupied by Everleigh. He’d sworn off dating, committing his full attention to his career. He wouldn’t remain at this hospital long. The place was the next stepping stone in a long path, and it was prudent to avoid complicated entanglements.

  Then again, Grant hadn’t been with a woman in quite a while. And Everleigh was damn attractive. Auburn hair. Blue eyes. Tall. Lean and athletic build. Breasts that were in perfect proportion to her body. He didn’t usually respond to redheads but there was a first time for everything.

  The sudden appearance of snapping fingers just mere inches away from his eyes jarred Grant out of his sexual reverie. He flashed an annoyed glance at his colleague.

  “What is it, Douglas?” he barked.

  The lanky, brunette man offered his own irritated smirk. “You tell me. You’re the one off in outer space.”

  “Nothing.” Grant tossed a chart to the side and plucked another from the pile to his right.

  “You’re pretty wound up over nothing.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he mumbled, evading eye contact.

  “What’s her name?” Douglas persisted with exasperating accuracy.

  Grant was done with this conversation. He gave Douglas a sharp expression that communicated nothing short of “get back to fucking work.” Grant then opened his next file with an aggressive fanfare and proceeded to do just that. Douglas shuffled off without another word but thanks to his suggestive probing, Grant’s thoughts quickly returned to Everleigh.

  She wasn’t a surgical resident. He would have met her well before now otherwise. They worked in the same hospital, but their professional circles hadn’t intersected outside of the cafeteria. Maybe that was for the best. He’d known the woman for less than a couple of hours and she was already a distracting pain in his ass.

  But she really was beautiful.

  If Everleigh decided to pursue him, Grant already knew what would happen. He’d allow her to satisfy his physical desires. If Everleigh wanted sex from him, he’d be more than happy to oblige. He didn’t have time to invest in a relationship, however, and for the first time in Grant’s life his conscience nagged at him over this detail.

  For some elusive, cryptic reason Grant couldn’t stand the idea of causing Everleigh any level of emotional harm.

  Everleigh arrived at the hospital and jumped into her own case files. She made two stops within the Intensive Care Unit before being called to a consult in the Emergency Room. When she made her way to the nurse’s station, she discovered her new friend, Grant, standing there, dictating orders to one of them.

  He glanced at Everleigh upon on her approach, but merely blinked and returned to the task at hand. Everleigh shrugged this off and turned her attention to another nurse.

  “I’m looking for Mr. Wilbur, please.”

  “Exam room three. Down the hall and to the right.”

  “Thank you.” Assignment received, Everleigh began making her way toward her destination.

  “What?” His deep voice angled toward her back. “No ‘Good morning, Grant’? No game of twenty questions today?”

  Everleigh smiled because a lighter side of Grant had unexpectedly come out to play. She turned around and caught the other two nurses staring at him, their jaws comically dropped. As soon as they made eye contact with Everleigh, they scampered back to work.

  “Good morning, Grant.” She bowed her head in his direction. “How did you sleep?”

  “I’ll let you know after I get some.”

  Her nose crinkled. She was concerned. Grant found this sexy as hell.

  “Have you been to bed since we first met? Don’t you know what sleep deprivation does to a body?” she asked him.

  “Are you a urology student?” he ventured.

  She laughed and the sight of her cheerfulness was irresistible. “In your dreams.”

  Grant let loose with a giant yawn. “You know the drill. That’s life in residency.”

  She pointed to his telltale green scrubs. “You surgeons have a death wish.”

  “Right now, I’d just kill for some caffeine.”

  “Will you be awake in ten minutes?”

  “Of course.” He was miffed by Everleigh’s question, as though she’d just insulted his sexual prowess. She had to stifle a laugh.

  “Wait right here,” she instructed him. “Let me finish up with my patient and then I’ll buy you a giant coffee and we’ll play more twenty questions.”

  “It’s a date.” The matter settled Grant turned back to his charts.

  Fifteen minutes later, they returned to the cafeteria. Everleigh bought their coffees and so Grant insisted she take a seat while they were being prepared. He was perplexed by her refusal of both cream and sugar but opted not to remark about it. When he strolled into the dining area, he located her at his usual table, sitting in the same chair he’d offered her the day before. At his approach, she smiled and pushed his chair away from the table with her foot.

  She watched him take a grateful sip of his venti Blonde Roast. “Seriously. You’ve been awake since the last time we were here?”

  “You make it sound like it’s no fun.”

  “It’s not.”

  “You don’t know. Maybe I haven’t been to sleep because I’ve been having a lot of sex instead.”

  Everleigh rolled her eyes, but couldn’t stop a fantasy of Grant’s moonlit, naked body from flashing through her imagination.

  “What?” Grant asked with a mixture of comedy and sincerity. “Is something like that so hard to believe?”

  “I believe you’ve been in the hospital since yesterday. And while I don’t know you well, I’m certain you wouldn’t have sex here.”

  “Because?”

  “You’re a scientist, which means you’re theoretical. You probably think about sex more than you have it, but whenever the opportunity presents itself, I’m sure you’re far more creative than just dropping your pants at the office.”

  Grant leaned back in his seat and folded his arms. “You’re a psychiatrist.”

  It was not a question.

  Everleigh offered a proud smile. “Not quite yet, but soon.”

  “If I’m a scientist, then what are you?”

  She a
nswered without hesitation and with complete honesty. “A guardian.”

  “A protector?”

  Everleigh nodded.

  “And how compatible is a scientist with a protector?”

  She ran a hand through her long hair. “Any two well-developed people can enjoy a healthy relationship, but the odds aren’t great.”

  “No?”

  “I’d have a natural tendency to shield you from harm and you’d be annoyed by that in no time at all.”

  Before Grant could respond, Everleigh changed the subject. “How much longer do you have to go on your shift?”

  “I’m off at three.”

  “Thirty hours? Isn’t that illegal now?”

  “Yes and no. The hospital is participating in a study about the pros and cons of the long shift work for surgical residents. It’s all sanctioned.” Grant took another sip of his coffee.

  “What’s your specialty?”

  “Neurosurgery,” he stated without fanfare.

  “How many years of study for you?”

  “Sixteen.”

  “And then you’re finally a surgeon?”

  “Not exactly. Who knows? I may opt to do an additional fellowship after my residency. Then I’ll need several years in practice before I can take my surgical board exam.”

  “You’ll be in your forties by then.”

  “Yep.”

  “Damn. Will you be specializing in brain tumors? Treating aneurysms?”

  “Not planning on a lot of that, but some is unavoidable.”

  “Stroke patients?”

  “Spinal surgery.”

  “What inspired you to choose that? Is someone in your family paralyzed?”

  He grinned. “No. Nothing as traumatic as that.”

  Everleigh was staring while she waited for Grant to provide a sufficient answer. Her attention was kind of cumbersome, but Grant also registered a flicker of pride that she’d taken such a personal interest in him. She was waiting for a thoughtful answer, so he wanted to give her one.

  “I don’t know how to describe what led me to it. How I feel about my work …” Grant’s words drifted away and so did his attention from Everleigh. She sat in patient silence as he searched his own emotions, attempting to locate the proper answer for what she was seeking. “It’s more than something I just want to do for a living.”

  To Everleigh’s eyes, Grant appeared flustered. It was as though he’d never been expected to articulate these types of feelings before. Everleigh was suddenly appreciative of his trust in her.

  “Spinal surgery is your passion.” She surmised.

  Grant shook his head at her observation. “More than that. My motivation is stronger than passion. I guess because I know with every ounce of my being that I’m meant to be a neurosurgeon. I’m going to do something great. I just don’t know what exactly that is yet.”

  “It’s your destiny, then?”

  Grant didn’t hesitate to nod at this assessment.

  “Spinal surgery is your destiny.” Everleigh mused.

  “Yes.” He was emphatic. “If nothing else, I’m certain of that.”

  Grant watched her expression as she absorbed his revelation. Although he wasn’t embarrassed, he did begin to feel self-conscious.

  “What about you?” he asked her, uncharacteristically aware of his own vulnerabilities. “Don’t you have a good idea about your own destiny?”

  She shrugged. “Kind of, but in a very different way from you, I think.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Unlike Grant, Everleigh did not struggle to articulate her fate. “Sometimes, I feel like I’m doing the right job, but in the wrong place.”

  “Considering private practice?”

  She laughed so hard, a small snort escaped her. “Oh God, no. No way. I just don’t know if a hospital is where I’m meant to help people.”

  “So you’d go out into charity care then?”

  “It would be awesome.” Everleigh’s dreamy smile was the most beautiful thing Grant had ever seen. “I think about it a lot,” she continued. “But not seriously enough to do anything about it.”

  “Why not?”

  “Not sure.”

  It was now Grant’s turn to stare at her in expectation, and she winked playfully. “Maybe I just needed to meet you first.”

  He laughed while also wondering what she was attempting to protect him from. Regardless, the ice between the two had thawed, allowing Grant and Everleigh to dive head first into a warm friendship.

  Later that night, Everleigh sat on the sofa in her modest apartment. She’d put on a pair of comfortable pajamas, poured a glass of chardonnay and rested the new novel she’d impulsively purchased on her lap. She drifted a finger across the letters on the book’s cover but couldn’t find the focus to open it and begin the story. Instead, her thoughts circled around Grant.

  He’d surprised her that morning by setting his prim façade aside and showing her his flirtatious nature. Grant was attracted to her and possessed ample confidence to let her know it. Not long after her spontaneous introduction, he’d decided she was worthy of his trust.

  She may have been astounded by his sexy remarks, but she was in no way offended by them. After all, she’d noticed him a hell of a lot sooner than he had noticed her. Their chemistry was tantalizing and strong. As long as Everleigh held Grant’s attention, she knew he would make an amazing lover.

  However …

  Grant was dedicated to his career beyond all else. Neurosurgery was his soul mate. Everleigh would have to be content with being Grant’s mistress. She might prove to be a pleasant distraction at the beginning of their affair, but ultimately she would prove too distracting from his one true love.

  Everleigh was an honest person and so she’d been telling Grant the truth when she said she had doubts about their compatibility. They were both medical professionals and while that made Everleigh more aware of the demands of Grant’s job, it also made her realistic. When she committed to romance, she was all in and she would never be happy having to compete with Grant’s career. She could love Grant with robust enthusiasm, but she was also a bit of a traditionalist. She wanted a man who was not only passionate, but reliable in delivering his passion.

  Beyond that, Grant had inadvertently bull’s-eyed Everleigh’s one regret. She chose to become a psychiatrist because she’d been consumed by a desire to help people, not because she wanted to blaze new trails in medicine. Still, she was disappointed with her current state of existence.

  Grant knew exactly what he wanted to do with his career and there was no doubt that he also knew what had to be done to achieve his goals. She wasn’t as concerned with reaching an ultimate destination. That wasn’t the most important piece of her puzzle. What she cared about most was helping people.

  He liked her.

  She liked him back.

  But she already knew they weren’t meant for each other. Getting together would be a bad idea, and she hadn’t done either of them a favor by choosing to seek him out in the hospital cafeteria. When things eventually went bad between them, the responsibility would lie with her. Sitting alone on her sofa, Everleigh came to her conclusion.

  It was best to shield him from harm now. It was best to spare them both from future heartbreak.

  Several weeks passed and Grant’s frustration was growing by the day.

  He saw Everleigh often during his shifts at the hospital, and although their friendship had strengthened, it had also plateaued. She was content with their brief, break time interactions and while he was interested in more, she hadn’t encouraged him.

  Grant was an introvert and therefore uneasy with communicating his affection for Everleigh. He never had trouble walking away from a relationship that wasn’t working for one reason or another, but when it came to Everleigh, the thought of walking away from her was unbearable. He was wary of overplaying his hand with her and the safest move was to hold his true feelings back.

  She had boldly introduc
ed herself to him, so it was logical to Grant that she would take their friendship to the next level when she was ready. What he couldn’t rationalize was what exactly she was waiting for.

  Everleigh didn’t strike him as the old-fashioned romantic, but maybe she was. Maybe she was waiting on him to ask her out.

  “Grant?” The young neurosurgeon in training turned to face his supervisor.

  “Yes?”

  “There’s a trauma patient in the ER. They’re asking for help. You game?”

  Grant was relieved to have something else to think about besides his lackluster sex life. “Not much going on here. Why not?”

  Grant dashed down the nearby stairwell, opting not to wait on the elevator. By the time he made his way into the Emergency Room, his mind was sharply focused on his work. He spotted the ER manager and reported to him right away.

  “Get me up to speed.”

  “Exam room five. Twenty-eight year old woman. Assault victim. She was discovered beaten and bleeding on the driveway of her house.”

  “Vitals?”

  “Erratic. Consistent with her injuries.”

  As Grant donned a disposable barrier gown and approached the closed glass door of the exam room, he spotted Everleigh inside with his patient. Her presence was bewildering and Grant turned his irritation toward the ER manager.

  “Why did you call her before me? Psych can wait their turn. Surgical consult, first.”

  Grant turned to look back at Everleigh and noticed another individual standing near her in the exam room. The man was taking notes on a small notepad while Everleigh spoke to the patient. He sensed the ER manager’s presence next to him and turned an impatient stare the man’s way.

  “Time is of the essence. The police need her statement while she can still give one. There were no other witnesses, and Everleigh has a talent.” The ER manager gave Grant’s new friend an admiring look that put the neurosurgeon even more on edge.

  “Not only can she get others to speak, she’s phenomenal at putting patients at ease. I’m hoping the woman’s vitals will level out with Everleigh’s help.”

  The manager turned to address Grant with his own look of severity. “And don’t question how I run my ER. There are more aspects to care than surgery.”